


An Urgency in Everything

by WorryinglyInnocent



Series: Homeward Bound [10]
Category: Lost
Genre: AU, Canon Divergence, Fix-It, Gen, Oceanic Six Claire, season 4, season 5, season 6
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-25
Updated: 2018-03-25
Packaged: 2019-04-08 00:42:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14093265
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WorryinglyInnocent/pseuds/WorryinglyInnocent
Summary: Continuing theHomeward Boundseries, in which Claire left the island in the season four finale and became part of the Oceanic Six, raising Aaron herself.Claire gains insight into why they have returned to the island, but then the group is split again and they are once more in peril as Widmore and the Man in Black begin to battle it out over Desmond and the ultimate fate of the island.





	An Urgency in Everything

Night has long since fallen by the time that Hurley and Claire arrive back at the camp. It seemed to take longer to get back than it did to get to the village, and she thinks that’s a quirk of the island. It’s giving them the time they need to reflect and enjoy the last of the calm before the storm. There’s a thrumming tension in the air; it feels like everyone is on edge and waiting for something to happen, and Claire is no exception. They need to leave this place, get out of here before Locke can pre-empt them. They have to stop him leaving the island. Richard is still expounding the virtues of dynamite.

“Why can’t we just fly away?” Claire says. “Frank’s a pilot, we have a plane, there’s no need to destroy it. We just have to get there first.”

“It might be a little bit more complicated than that.”

James is walking along the beach towards him. Strange how she’s taken to calling him that so easily, just falling in with what all the others are doing.

There’s a sorrow in his bearing that Claire has not seen there before, but there’s also grim determination. In spite of it all, Claire can only smile at seeing that he’s ok.

“Where did you go?” Kate asks. “Claire and Hurley went to look for you at the barracks.”

“I’ve been on the Island Magical Mystery Tour with someone who’s not Locke.”

The campfire begins to burn low as James tells them of his travels with the man masquerading as Locke, of the names in the cave.  _Austen. Ford. Jarrah. Kwon. Reyes. Shephard._

“What about me?” Claire asks. She’s almost afraid to, but she has to know.

James shakes his head. “Littleton was crossed out. He didn’t say why. Don’t think he knows.”

Candidates for protecting the island. It really hits home, and Claire supposes that this was why they all had to come back, in the end. But why her? If she’s crossed out, no longer a candidate, why is she here?

Then she looks around at the others and realises that they all need her support just as much as she needs theirs. They’ve been through so much together that they need to be together now.

James continues his tale, concluding with the bleak fact that Widmore has brought Desmond back to the island for reasons as yet unknown, and seems to have declared war on Locke.

“We need to leave,” Sun says simply. “We have to get on that plane and get out of here.”

“We can’t,” Hurley says. “Jacob’s dead. The island has no protector. I know how much we all want to leave.” He pauses, glancing over at Claire. “I know some of us didn’t even want to come back. But we can’t just leave it unprotected. Locke will still do whatever it is that he’s going to do and he’ll still be able to leave, and then everything that’s happened here will be for nothing.”

Claire nods her agreement. They can’t let it all be in vain, all the people they lost.

“We don’t have time,” Ilana presses.

“Jacob said he would come when we were all together,” Hurley says levelly. “Surely you trust him even if you don’t trust me.”

Ilana nods, and stops her pacing, and Richard finally seems to have given up the dynamite idea. The remaining candidates, and those who ended up dragged into their lives, sit down to wait.

Claire is not sure how long they actually sit there waiting for Jacob, but she doesn’t really care. There’s less urgency now that they’re all back together, and despite Ilana and Richard’s worries about Locke getting off the island, it seems secondary right now, like there are more important things to think about.

It’s still a fear in the back of her mind though. No-one has really told her who or what the person masquerading as Locke is. They all know that he is dangerous and Claire realises it more than most considering the incident in the jungle with the person who was not her father. Naturally, if something is dangerous then it needs to be contained, but Claire would rather know exactly what it is that they’re going up against before she sets out on a mission to destroy the world’s greatest evil, or whatever it is that is opposed to them.

Ilana suddenly stops her pacing.

“How did Widmore get to the island?” she asks James.

“Submarine.” It’s Ben who replies, and everyone in the group turns to him. “That’s always how we’ve come and gone. Considering his sizeable assets, I’m sure that Widmore could procure one of his own.”

“Then we need to destroy it,” Ilana says flatly. “It’s all very well us getting out of here on this plane, but we have to make sure that Locke can’t leave by any means.”

“Why do we need to destroy it?” Sun asks. “Why is everyone’s first instinct to blow something up? Can’t we just tell the submarine captain to leave the island without Locke on board?”

“Do you really think that he’s going to believe a bunch of us telling him that he needs to leave because otherwise an immortal being hell bent on destruction is going to use his sub to go and wreak havoc on the world?” Ben says sourly. “Besides, Widmore is a fanatic. He wants to get the island back by any means. Nothing we can say will make him leave.”

Ben certainly knows more about Widmore than any of them, but Claire and Sun are obviously still unconvinced that explosions are the way to go. Nevertheless, they appear to be in a minority.

“We need to get to the Black Rock,” Richard says. “We need to get all the dynamite we can.”

“Richard, your obsession with dynamite, worrying as it is, is laudable, but considering how extremely unstable it is, we might want to consider a solution that won’t blow us up before we can put it to good use.” Ben gets to his feet. “I know where we can get some C4.”

Claire shakes her head. Of course he does, because C4 is regularly found just lying around on pacific islands. Why didn’t they think of that before?

“Guys, we’ve only just got everyone back together and now you want to go handling highly dangerous explosives?” Hurley says. “Seriously?”

“Locke’s got to be stopped,” Ben says. “If this is the only way to stop him leaving the island then we have to give it a try. Besides, as much as I hate to say it, Ilana is right. We’re running out of time.”

“I’ll go with you.” James gets to his feet. “Because all things considered, I only met you two hours ago.” He nods to Ilana then turns to Ben. “And I still wouldn’t trust you as far I could through you.”

“Wait!” Hurley pleads. “We have to stay here and wait for Jacob! He’s never going to show up if people keep wandering off.”

James spreads his hands. “Hugo, I see no Jacob here. If he wants me to stay put, then hell, he can rain down some lightning bolts with his crazy island God powers and I will gladly stay here.”

Nothing happens, not that anyone was really expecting it to, and James shrugs, heading off into the jungle after Ben and Ilana.

“I think I will go as well.” Sayid gets to his feet. “One more person missing from the party won’t make much difference, and with James’s frame of mind as it is, I’d rather be there to keep an eye on him.”

Hurley just throws his hands up in defeat.

“You’re making a mistake!” he yells after them. Claire puts a hand on his arm.

“It’ll be ok,” she says. “Let them do this and Jacob will come when they get back.”

She has no idea if he will or not, but after everything that’s happened and is going to keep happening for the foreseeable future, blind faith is really the only thing that she’s got left to go on.

The quiet in the camp is tense after their departure, the air heavy with the anticipation of something happening, although no-one is quite sure what they’re expecting or how it’s going to come about. James’s stark declaration that Widmore appears to have declared war on Locke, or vice versa, was a chilling one.

Richard has taken up Ilana’s pacing duties, and suddenly he stops.

“Something’s not right,” he says, shielding his eyes against the moonlight as he looks up over the ridge.

He’s only just had time to say it before the first shell crashes down in the jungle, throwing dust and dirt and tree branches everywhere. Everyone gathered on the beach hits the sand as the second mortar blast hits, closer to them this time.

“What the hell?” Kate exclaims. “What’s happening?”

“I think the war between Locke and Widmore just got serious,” Jack says grimly. “How the hell is he getting bombs all the way from the other island?”

“Remember Faraday; this is the island of crazy physics, don’t question it.” Kate covers her head as another blast comes closer. With a sickening jolt, Claire realises that it must have come down just about where the group who went on the C4 mission must have got to on their journey back to the Dharma village.

“They’re getting closer!” Sun yells, getting to her feet. “We can’t stay here, we’ll be blown to pieces!”

The group begins to split up as they race along the beach as fast as they can in the soft sand. Claire sticks with Hurley, Sun and Jin, but it’s clear that the entire group is not going to be able to stick together; they’ll be quicker splitting up and more able to dodge whatever Widmore might throw at them.

“Meet at the Dharma docks!” Hurley yells over the whistle of another incoming projectile.

They’ll need to get across to the other island to make good their escape on the plane, after all. It’s as good a place as any to meet, and Claire just keeps on running. They’ve always spent so much time running away from things and now it’s just like old times. Running from smoke monsters, running from polar bears, and now running from heavy artillery fire. Always running for their lives.

At least this time she’s not carrying Aaron.

The four of them run until they can run no longer, their legs like jelly underneath them, and Jin ushers them all into a densely packed bamboo grove to catch their breath, hoping that it won’t fall down on them. The blasting seems to have stopped. Perhaps they ran out of shells, or perhaps Widmore just accepted that blowing up the island he wants so badly to be in charge of in the hope of eliminating just one - probably immortal - man is a stupid idea.

The wait out the rest of the night in the grove, but none of them are able to relax for a moment. Claire looks around her companions. These are the people who want to get off the island. These are the people who have lives and ties waiting for them in the outside world, people who don’t know what’s happened to them and are waiting anxiously for any news.

She, Sun and Jin are the ones with so very much to lose, and Claire knows that they have to make it. They can’t lose now, not when they’re so close to getting home. They owe it to the ones they’ve left behind.

Once the light is coming up and it doesn’t seem that there will be any more attacks from the air, they keep moving towards the Dharma docks. Claire thinks about Sayid and James on their way to the Barracks. Should they give them up for lost? With any luck they scattered, but she can’t help thinking of the explosion that came down right on their trail. She can’t bear to lose anyone. Not now.

Their group is the first to reach the dock, and hopefully it will not be the last. When they arrive, Claire is surprised to see Desmond’s boat docked at the jetty.

She’s even more surprised to see Locke and Desmond getting out of it. Well, that’s not entirely accurate. Locke is getting out of it and Desmond is literally out of it, in a fireman’s lift over Locke’s shoulder.

Locke gives them a smile that if he really had been Locke would have been totally benign.

“I don’t think they liked me taking Desmond very much,” he comments, looking at the smoke still rising from some of the mortar blasts further inland.

Claire just glares at him. Their friends might well be dead because of Widmore’s attempts to destroy him. She has no idea how many of them survived the bombardment; it could well be that they’re the only ones left. She really feels like she could kill him right now, but they know he’s dangerous and they don’t want to take him on, not worn down and unarmed as they are. As much as Claire really wants to rescue Desmond, this thing that’s not really Locke can turn into a murderous column of smoke at a moment’s notice and take them all out before they could do anything. Locke just laughs.

“You know, that’s a pretty ferocious expression for someone so young and sweet,” he says. “It’s really a shame that the cavalry came in when it did that night in the jungle. There’s a lot of viciousness in you, Claire, when you dig deep down. I could have used you as a valuable ally. There’s nothing more dangerous than a mother separated from her child. I was that close.” He holds up his thumb and forefinger an inch apart. “Just another couple of minutes and I’d have got you. Even the best of us have daddy issues.”

Hurley steps in between Claire and Locke. “Leave her alone. You’ve done enough damage.”

“Very true, Hugo. I’ve got places to be, after all.”

It feels terrible to just let him pass with Desmond, but they have to remember that he’s immortal and irrational and the rest of them are both very capable of dying and very determined not to.

Claire sinks down onto her knees on the jetty, really taking in what Locke said. He had planned to use her, to separate her from Aaron and weaponise her motherhood. She dreads to think what she might have done if she thought that Aaron had been taken from her and she’d been left alone on the island without him.

“Claire? Are you ok? Don’t listen to him, he’s just trying to get into your head.”

Hurley’s words calm her and she nods.

“Yeah, I’ll be ok. Thanks Hurley.”

“So, now what do we do?” Sun asks.

“We could take Locke’s boat,” Jin suggests. “We need to get across to the other island anyway, and not having a boat would slow him down if he did want to leave the island on the plane or the sub.”

“We should wait and see if any of the others come,” Claire says. “We said to meet here, we should stay here for a while at least. Everyone went in different directions, so some of them might have to double back on themselves to get here.”

They settle down to wait, keeping an eye out for both friends and enemies. Claire wishes that Ilana and her rifle had not gone to the Dharma barracks. Hurley, practical as ever, gives the boat a once over and comes up with some Dharma food.

“It’s pretty old,” he says, “but it’s the kind of stuff that won’t go bad for years, so I think we’re ok.”

Anything’s better than nothing, and Claire accepts the tinned fruit gratefully.

About an hour after Locke left, Jack and Kate arrive with Miles in tow, and they settle down to wait again. Just as they’re about to give it up as a bad job and set sail, there’s a shout through the trees and Richard and Frank appear.

“I got lost,” Frank admits. It’s hardly surprising, he’s not spent anywhere near as much time on the island as the rest of them have. “Richard had to come and rescue me.”

All those who had been on the beach when the attack started have arrived, and Claire’s heart rejoices for their survival.

There’s a moment of quiet then, with none of them really knowing what to do, and none of them wanting to make the decision to sail away and possibly strand James and Sayid on the main island. There’s no way of knowing if they survived or not, and there’s no time to lose in going after them.

“They wouldn’t know to meet us here anyway,” Hurley says, voicing the thoughts that no-one else wants to. “They’d be going back to the beach, and when they don’t find us there, then they could be anywhere.”

“They’ll come to Hydra Island,” Kate agrees. “If they don’t find us at the beach then hopefully they’ll just carry on and go to blow up the sub like they planned.”

With the sensible voices of reason having spoken, the survivors set sail towards the smaller island.

There’s no sign of Widmore’s crew; if they’re there then they’re staying out of sight, but Claire suspects that they’ve gone over to the main island somehow to try and retrieve Desmond. She really hopes that he’s going to be ok now that he has two sides fighting over him for reasons unknown.

Frank goes to check on the plane, making a long, long list of everything that needs to be done to get it flyable again, and the others make camp on the beach, building a fire that’s far larger than it really needs to be in the subconscious hope that the others will see it.

As dusk begins to fall, Jin, who’s been keeping watch, gives an exclamation, and Claire and Hurley run across to him.

The others are coming, paddling doggedly across the water in an outrigger. Sayid, James, Ben, Ilana, all accounted for. They’re all ok.

“Are you all right? Where’ve you been? What happened? Did you get the C4?”

They’re exhausted from paddling and hit with a barrage of questions, but it soon becomes clear that things have sped up in the time since Claire and her group left the main island. The C4 was given up as a bad job and Widmore and his lackeys are dead, although at whose hand remains a mystery that Ben is rather cagey about.

Claire doesn’t really care. They’re safe, and they’re going to get off this island.

All they have to do is wait.


End file.
